


until i wrap myself inside your arms, i cannot rest

by cinderellasfella



Series: what the water gave me [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Mutual Pining, Reunion Sex, Reunions, Selkies, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 23:04:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20665283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderellasfella/pseuds/cinderellasfella
Summary: Years ago, the selkie men would come from the sea once the fishermen had set out for the day, paying a call to their lonely wives to help while away the hours in a most pleasurable fashion. Or so the old stories go.Watching Steve idly sip his drink, separate and solitary at the other end of the bar, Thor would be lying if he said he didn't see the appeal of such stories from either side.





	until i wrap myself inside your arms, i cannot rest

Steve had once told him some of the old selkie stories, about a year after Thor had first started visiting him. 

An early morning storm had kept the fishing boats from heading out. After the rare surprise of waking to find his husband slipping back into bed, Thor had managed to coax Steve into spending the day on the sofa, curled up in pajamas and hoodies while the rain pitter-pattered a merry beat on the windows. Between heady, lazy bouts of making out, and the radio playing softly in the background, they’d talked about this and that and any old thing, comfortably settled in each other’s arms. 

At some point, the conversation had turned to selkies; Thor knew the stories his parents had passed down to him well enough, but he’d never really considered what humans must think of his people (assuming they thought of them at all these days), and he’d probed Steve’s knowledge with curiosity. The tales of female selkies, they found, were pretty similar in their long and tragic histories. So, he’d asked for stories about the males.

“Well, they’re _ devastatingly _ handsome,” Steve had begun (“Naturally,” Thor had interjected smugly, earning a playful swat to the shoulder). “They sometimes come to land to visit a fisherman’s wife and, well… provide some 'pleasurable company’ while the husband’s at work. Usually only after she, ah…” He’d tried to school his face into a neutral expression, but there was no hiding the quiver in the very pit of his chest, laughter bubbling up under the words. “... she cries seven tears of loneliness into the ocean?”

At the time, he’d laughed until his gut ached, until Steve had pressed him down into the sofa and ended the conversation for a thoroughly enjoyable half hour. But now, watching Steve idly trace around the rim of his bottle from the other end of the dimly lit pub, Thor would be lying if he said he didn’t see the appeal of such stories.

He’d come from the sea at sundown, shadows bleeding long and dark into the water, to find the house empty. A quick search had yielded Steve’s overalls and boots, neatly laid out at the foot of the bed, meaning he’d clearly come home from work and gone out again. So Thor had dressed himself after leaving his cloak to dry by the stacked fire (and even after three years, his heart still swells at such a simple gesture), and turned his steps towards town, only occasionally needing to remind himself that he’s working with two legs now. Which led him to where he is now, lurking in the threshold of the local pub, with hungry eyes for one man alone.

It only takes him a moment to pick Steve out of the crowd; perched on a stool at the far end of the bar, nodding his thanks as the bartender passes him another drink. He’s a little flushed in the heat of the crowd, right down the long line of his throat as he takes a swig, and Thor can already feel his jeans growing tighter at the bobbing of his Adam’s apple. Making his way through the crowd, he carefully keeps himself out of sight until he’s right behind his quarry. With one hand braced on the bar next to Steve’s, Thor leans in close to his husband’s ear.

“Don’t suppose you’re waiting for anyone, are you, handsome?”

The heckles that rose at the unknown touch are quick to lower, tension seeping from Steve’s frame as he shrugs. “That depends,” he says, a smile evident in his voice, though his head only turns a fraction in his direction. “Who wants to know?”

“Oh, nobody in particular.” His fingers trace circles on the bar’s surface, idle and aimless, mere inches from Steve’s. “I just couldn’t help noticing you looked a little lonely up here, all by yourself. Thought perhaps you might enjoy a little… pleasurable company?”

There’s a beat of silence as Steve takes a nonchalant sip, as if mulling over his words. “_Well_,” he eventually says, twisting around in his stool to get a proper look at him. Even with a wry edge to his smile, there’s no disguising the glow of happiness that radiates off of him as he gives Thor a leisurely up and down. “You should probably know, I’m expecting my husband back from a trip any minute now. And he’s a _ very _ jealous type.”

“Ah, I see,” Thor sighs. He lets his shoulders sag in mock disappointment, even as he gets the absurd urge to puff out his chest with pride. With a feigned casualness at odds with his thundering pulse, he pushes off the bar and straightens up. Unwilling to let their little game finish up just yet, though, he lets one thumb brush lightly off of the back of Steve’s wrist, barely grazing the fine blond hairs. As innocuous as the touch is, the whitening of Steve’s knuckles around the bottle’s neck tell a very different story. 

“Apologies for the bother, at any rate,” he continues smoothly. “Of course, if you change your mind, well…” The offer hangs in the air, unspoken and heavy with promise. With one last wink, Thor saunters lazily in the direction of the bathroom. Pushing through the throng, he chances a quick look over his shoulder before slipping through the door. Just in time to see Steve twisting back towards the bar. Trying to pretend he hadn’t been watching Thor every step of the way. _ The sly bastard_, he thinks to himself with a grin, the cacophony of the pub dimming in volume once the door shuts behind him.

He busies himself at the sink, running the cold water to splash his face with no small amount of relief. With the Friday night crowds in full swing, not to mention how hot he’s getting under the collar, he might as well have come in from a sauna. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he idly wonders how long Steve will give it.

He doesn’t even have to wait thirty seconds, as it turns out. He hears the volume of the crowd outside swell and die in the same instant, the click of the lock turning, and barely has time to turn around before he finds himself crowded back against the wall, his arms suddenly full. And for the first time in _ months_, it’s like he’s whole again, his heart singing with joy and relief.

His husband is back in his arms. Nothing else matters.

For all the hunger that’s driving it, there’s a softness to Steve’s kiss, breathy and hesitant, his tongue sliding against Thor’s lips. Like he’s asking for permission. Thor, of course, is all too glad to oblige, welcoming him in with a sigh as he pulls his husband closer still. If the press of Steve’s cock, hard and insistent against his hip, is any indication, he’s not the only one who’s happy that their separation is at an end.

But it _ would _ be nice to have this last for more than ten seconds. He reluctantly brings up his hands to Steve’s chest, pushing ever so slightly back. Steve is quick to get the message, even as he seems to share Thor’s reticence, and eventually, they pull back for air. Foreheads resting together, they drink in the sight of one another. “Hey,” Steve finally huffs out, irises blown wide and dark, looking even more deliciously flushed than ever.

“Hey, yourself,” Thor manages to get out after a moment, chest heaving as he tries to steady his breathing. He’s already dizzy with a heady cocktail of euphoric lust, and the slow, steady grinding of Steve’s hips against his crotch isn’t doing much to help keep him coherent. “Awfully eager tonight, aren’t we?”

“Bucky and Sam are getting take-out, they’ll be back any minute.” Steve’s hands are already sliding down Thor’s chest, his intent clear as they inch towards his belt. “And there’s no way in _ hell _ I’m waiting ‘til we get back home.”

“Hmmm… is that so?” In the blink of an eye, he flips them around, and the sound Steve lets out as he finds himself pinned to the tiled wall is like an electric current in his blood. “_Well_,” he murmurs, unable to resist the urge to cup the hard bulge in Steve’s pants and massage it with the heel of his palm, feeling his hips lift eagerly off the wall in response. “We’ll just have to make this quick, won’t we?”

He feels rather than sees Steve’s answering grin as he allows himself to be pulled back into another searing kiss. It never fails to leave him a bit breathless, just how much he’s missed this, missed _ Steve _, the feeling of him real and warm in his arms. Steve’s hands are at his hair, pulling it loose from its tie to curl his fingers right in, and he doesn’t bother to suppress a soft moan that Steve is quick to swallow. 

It’s not long until Steve’s hands are at his belt, clumsy in their haste to get his pants out of the way, and Thor can’t help a little huff of laughter at the way Steve’s brow furrows. “Alright, very funny, wise guy,” Steve grumbles, even as his mouth twists into a smile, a glint in his eye. “Wanna help me out here, or will we just wait ‘til Bucky or Sam comes looking for us?”

“Well, I mean,” Thor murmurs, playfully contemplative, “if you’re _ really _ that interested in spicing things up…” He gets a soft punch to the chest for that, feeling the vibrations of Steve’s chortled laughter through their kiss. “Very well, then,” he says, his voice rough and honey-dark, the clacking of his loosened belt buckle absurdly magnified in the hushed space of the bathroom. “Your wish is my command.”

Steve likes the sound of that, if the look in his eyes as he undoes the buttons of his shirt is any indicator. Thor is quick to follow his lead, shucking off his jacket and t-shirt just as Steve manages to free himself from his button-up. Then they’re crashing back together for another kiss and _ oh_, that’s so much better. The feeling of Steve’s skin, blazing hot against his own, drives him wilder still, and he eagerly maps out the planes of his shoulders with his hands and lips. Steve’s almost trying to burrow beneath his skin, arching up so that they’re pressed flush against one another from stem to stern. And while Thor could happily do this all evening long, their increased proximity has him _ very _ aware of how achingly hard he is, his hips dragging and grinding up into Steve’s erection, straining for more friction between two layers of clothing. High time they did something about those, now that he thinks about it.

Another smirk quirks Steve’s lips when he feels Thor’s fingers at the top button of his waistband, fumbling and artless in their need. Bringing a hand in between their sweat-soaked bodies, they manage to get their pants undone with only a minor delay, eyes still hungrily trained on each other all the while. Then Steve’s taking him by the wrist and guiding him, eyelids fluttering shut when Thor finally takes his cock in hand, fingers teasing along the underside of the head. At the same time, he reaches down the front of Thor’s jeans, still uncomfortably tight even with the zipper undone, and oh, _ gods_, the feeling of Steve’s grip closing around him, firm and calloused, is nothing short of _ heavenly_. He gives Steve’s cock an experimental stroke in response, a steady stream of precum easing his efforts, and Steve’s head tips back against the tiled wall, his moan of pleasure quickly captured as Thor goes in for another kiss. They settle into a rhythm easily enough, just enough to keep each other teetering on the edge, ravenous for a little bit more.

“Ssssooo good,” Steve slurs against his lips, canting his hips to fuck up into Thor’s fist. His head drops down to the line between Thor’s neck and shoulder as he worries the slit of his cock with the pad of his thumb, pulling a string of muffled, guttural swears right up from the pit of Thor’s chest. “Never this good, not without you.”

Even through the fog of lust ensnaring his mind, the words strike a chord, tender and maddeningly erotic all at once. “Thought about me, did you?” he manages to rasp out, savouring every whine and gasp that Steve makes at the sure, steady pumping of his fist around his cock. “All those nights on your own… did you imagine me there, my hands on you, while you got yourself off?”

Steve nods breathlessly. With his free hand, he wraps Thor’s fingers around both of their shafts, letting out a soft sigh to match Thor’s at the exquisite pressure. Enclosing Thor’s fist in his own, he set a bracing tempo, arching up into Thor’s body with every upward stroke. “Didn’t feel right, though. Felt like something was…” Words seem to fail him, caught between the throes of passion and the enormity of his solitude during those months apart as he is.

Thor takes pity on him. “Like something was missing?” he prompts, tender and warm, lips tracing the shell of Steve's ear. “The way I felt, every time I thought about you? About the space in my heart that aches without you in my arms?” He lets the pace gentle for a moment as he tilts Steve’s head up to meet his gaze again. Brushing a thumb along his bottom lip, cherry-red and temptingly swollen, he trails soft kisses along the line of Steve’s jaw, trying to impart everything his heart is too full to say.

_ I’m sorry for doing this to you. Leaving you to pick up the pieces, again and again. Alone. _

And Steve, with that quiet sensitivity of his, seems to hear every word loud and clear, turning his face to meet Thor’s properly. His kiss is soft, almost chaste, but the emotion beneath it remains as steady and sure as ever.

_ There’s nothing to forgive. Never apologise for who you are. For who I love. _

_ We’re here. Together. And no distance will ever change that. _

They stay like that for a while, their embrace gentle while their hands roam and explore, reacquainting themselves with one another, But eventually, need begins to take over again, spurring each other on. And Thor’s an old hat at recognising Steve’s tells by now; the tilt of his eyebrows, the soft, breathy sounds he makes every time Thor brushes over his nipples, fingers spasming in their grip at his side - Steve’s just about as close as he is. “Wait, just _ wait _ a moment,” Thor mutters around Steve’s lips, breaking away with Herculean effort and slowing their rhythm, even as their hips continue to grind.

Another bolt of heat licks its way down his spine at the growling sound Steve makes when Thor removes his hand, pooling low in his stomach. “Not gonna last much longer,” he pants, looking so utterly wrecked that Thor’s already thinking twice about pulling back. “How do you want this?”

Even feeling fit to burst any moment now, Thor can’t help a teasing chuckle as he slowly lowers himself down, trailing kisses along the ridges and valleys of Steve’s chest all the while, savouring the quiver of hard muscle beneath his lips. “Hmmm… I think,” he murmurs between kisses, pausing to _ just _ graze one nipple with his teeth and grinning at the ensuing hitch in Steve’s breath. “I _ think_… I want you in my mouth. Taking what you need from me.” His voice is little more than a rumble when he finally gets to his knees, licking his lips at the sight of Steve’s cock, dripping with arousal scant inches from his lips. Chancing a glance up through his eyelashes, he’s rewarded with the sight of Steve all but melting against the wall at the very suggestion.

“Are you… are you sure?” he manages to pant out. Considerate as ever, even when he’s so desperate for release. “Not that that doesn’t sound amazing, but you don’t have t-”

The rest of his sentence is cut off by a strangled groan when Thor wraps his lips around the head of his cock. Cheeks hollowed out, he runs his tongue in a slow, lazy circle around the sensitive underside of the crown, groaning in pleasure at the sharp, musky tang that fills his senses. Steve’s head is thrown back against the wall when he glances up again, his mouth an _ o _ of sheer ecstasy as Thor pulls off with an obscenely wet _ pop_. “That answer your question?” Thor asks innocently, tugging lazily on the shaft with no small amount of smug satisfaction.

“Asshole,” Steve mutters with a brilliant grin, fingers tangling in Thor’s hair as he swallows him down once again. With one hand stroking the length he hasn’t already taken in, he gets a grip on Steve’s jeans with the other, dragging them down to expose miles of legs, digging his fingers into the muscles of his thigh to steady himself. Concentrating on taking in as much as he can, Thor’s head bobs lower and lower on Steve’s shaft, gorging himself on the taste, the smell of his husband, all around and inside him. Steve’s quick to pick up Thor’s pace, the hand that isn’t tangled in his hair holding his jaw in a gentle cradle, keeping Thor’s head in place as he fucks deeper and deeper down his throat. And all the while, he’s babbling on in a soft, crooning tone, a mixture of swears and endearments at _how_ _good it is, Thor, so warm and tight and _beautiful_, you’re so beautiful, Thor, needed you so badly... _His blood rising rapidly, Thor takes himself in hand, jerking himself off in a messy attempt to keep time with the bobbing of his head, the snapping of Steve’s hips.

It doesn’t take them too long from there onwards. He feels the first warning twitches as he finally buries his nose right against Steve’s pelvis, with Steve squirming worse than ever. His fingers curl into a tight fist in Thor’s hair, nails dragging along his scalp, his breathing growing shallow and erratic. “Thor,” he warns, his voice as tightly strung as a piano wire, low and rough, “Thor, I’m- I’m gonna come, I-!”

Humming with approval, Thor pushes himself right down to the base as Steve crumples over and around him with a hoarse cry, spurting hot and bitter once, twice, three times into his mouth. He keeps sucking as tremors wrack through Steve’s body, running one hand soothingly up and down his thigh. Then all at once, there are hands under his armpits, scrabbling and demanding, and he’s dragged back up to his feet. Even with the edge of need taken off, Steve’s kiss is still deep and passionate, eagerly chasing the musky taste of himself on Thor’s tongue. Flipping them around once more, he presses Thor back against the wall, the cool tile like a balm to his heated skin, and takes a hold of his cock once more. A few strokes is all it takes, tight and slick and all in a blur, before he’s spilling all over Steve’s fist, his groans of relief eagerly swallowed up and lost in Steve’s mouth. With a final tug, Steve collapses against him in a sweaty embrace, nuzzling into the hollow of his collarbone as they both catch their breath, dazed and wrung out in pleasure.

A few hazy, drowsy minutes later, the outside world gradually starts to let itself back in, the muffled humming beyond the door insistent and inescapable. Bones heavy with honey-sweetness, Thor’s the first to stir, peppering Steve’s brow with kisses and slowly making his way down to his lips again. Wishing their little bubble of peace would never end. But eventually, Steve sighs through his nose and pulls back, looking every bit as reticent as Thor feels. “Alright,” he mumbles, stretching out his shoulders with a grunt of relief. “I guess we better get going, huh?”

“Indeed,” Thor sighs, tucking himself away. Scooping up the hair tie from where it fell to the ground, he runs his fingers through his hair, damp with perspiration, and tries to scrape it back into some sort of respectable state. “Wouldn’t want to keep that husband of yours waiting, now would we?” he chuckles, watching Steve zip himself back up with languid satisfaction.

“I suppose not.” Despite the lazy grin on his face, something dark and teasing smoulders in Steve’s eyes as he brings his hand, the one that had been so tightly clenched around Thor’s cock just moments ago, up to his mouth, slowly and deliberately licking up every trace of Thor’s release from those long fingers. Not once does he break his gaze, and even now, Thor can feel himself stirring with interest again at such a wanton sight. “Although,” he continues, tone deceptively light as he leans in for a teasing peck on the lips, “I’m sure he wouldn’t object _ too _ badly, all things considered.”

Shaking his head in amusement, Thor chases him just long enough for one last kiss, soft and chaste as sea spray, before resting their foreheads together, Steve’s face framed in his hands. “I’ve missed you, my darling,” he whispers, heart in his throat as it hits him again just how blessed he is.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Steve murmurs, noses brushing together, the world slotting back together as they hold each other close. Eventually, they break apart long enough to gather their discarded clothes, fixing themselves and each other up; straightening the other’s collar, rinsing off at the sink, smoothing out wrinkles, and generally trying to make it look like they haven’t been humping each other’s brains out in a dingy public house bathroom for the past few minutes. Steve slips out first with a backwards glance and a wink, a soft knocking signalling the all clear to follow a few seconds later.

Once outside, he busies himself fixing up his collar again, trying to convince himself that he’s just being paranoid. All around him, the rest of the bar chatters and brays on, unknowing and entirely uncaring of what just happened. It’s all in his head, he tells himself airily, nothing to worry about. Until his gaze lands on the nearest corner booth, and its occupants; Sam, stony-faced as he fishes a twenty out of his wallet, Bucky, who’s trying and failing miserably to hold in his laughter at their rumpled appearances, and Natasha, pocketing Sam’s twenty with an all-too knowing look in her eye.

Even with his cheeks burning a deep magenta, the smile on Steve’s face no less bright for its sheepishness when they exchange glances, and Thor’s heart is light enough that he swears he’ll start bouncing off the ceiling any moment now. Clasping hands tightly, they weave their way through the crowd until they reach the expectant trio.

“Hey, guys!” Steve calls out cheerily, utterly uncaring in his post-orgasmic bliss, “I’m _ starved, _ mind if we join in?”

“Sam, Bucky, good to see you both,” Thor says, biting his tongue in an effort to keep himself from joining in the snort of laughter that escapes from behind the back of Bucky’s hand. “You too, Natasha, wasn’t expecting to find you here.”

“Oh, you know me,” Natasha says with a shrug, “never one to miss a good show.” A smile tugs the corners of her mouth, threatening to spread further when Sam pulls out a small, clear bottle and tosses it for Steve to catch.

“Hand sanitiser, the pair of you,” Sam says, his tone brooking no arguments, even with the amused smile on his face. “I don’t know where those hands have been, but I’ll feel better about them being near the food once I know they’re clean, alright?” Another sly glance between the two of them, and evidently Thor isn’t the only one of them on the verge of breaking down as they scrub their hands, holding them up for inspection. “Alright, good, now get your asses in here!” Sam laughs, elbowing Bucky to move along while he and Natasha budge up to make more room.

Thor’s grin is wide enough to split his face open as the pair of them squeeze into the booth and eagerly tuck in, quick to weigh in with the others on the latest gossip. The pub might be hot and crowded, speakers blaring too loud with the smell of booze and sweat all around. But all that matters is the weight of Steve’s hand on his knee, warm and reassuring all throughout the evening. The looks he sends Thor’s way every now and then, sated and so happy and full of promise for what waits at home, where they’ll have all night and the whole house to themselves. The thoughts of what lies beyond, of waking up with his husband in his arms, their hearts finally at ease after so long. 

He’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> *bursts in the door*  
I come bearing updates and smut!!
> 
> Thanks to all for reading, and a very special thank you to my beta, dun_lear_ee, for the extra set of eyes - you're an absolute star, Maggie ❤️
> 
> Feedback will be deeply appreciated! :D
> 
> Title from Florence and the Machine's 'Howl'


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